Criminal case against Arif Naqvi adjourned by UAE court

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Criminal case against Arif Naqvi adjourned by UAE court

Sharjah - The public prosecutor's office in Sharjah issued arrest warrants earlier this month against Naqvi.

By Reuters

Published: Thu 28 Jun 2018, 12:05 PM

Last updated: Thu 28 Jun 2018, 9:31 PM

A Sharjah court has adjourned until July 5 a judgment against the founder of private equity firm Abraaj and another executive for issuing a cheque without sufficient funds, a lawyer close to the case told Reuters on Thursday.
The public prosecutor's office in Sharjah issued arrest warrants earlier this month against Arif Naqvi, who founded Abraaj in 2002, and fellow executive Muhammad Rafique Lakhani for issuing a cheque that bounced.
The arrest warrant has been issued by a Sharjah court in absentia as Arif Naqvi is travelling outside the UAE pending the decision by the court.

According to court documents, the cheques were issued as a security loans of about $200 million (Dh734 million) to Abraaj and $100 million to Arif Naqvi the UAE's Jafar family, Bloomberg said, quoting Dr. Habib Al Mulla, executive chairman of Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, Naqvi's lawyer.

Court decisions

A Cayman Islands court will decide on July 11 whether to approve Colony Capital's deal to take control of four funds belonging to Middle East private equity firm Abraaj Group, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Abraaj, which denies any wrongdoing, has been thrown into turmoil by a dispute with four investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and International Finance Corp (IFC), over the use of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund.
The row has shaken confidence in Abraaj, halted its fund raising and sparked debt repayment problems, forcing it to file for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands.
Colony needs approval from the investors, known as limited partners (LPs), in the four Abraaj funds for its deal to close.
The US-based investment management firm expects to hold a vote ahead of the court hearing, one source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Dubai-based Abraaj did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Colony declined to comment.
The source said Colony has expressed confidence it will gain the necessary LP support, though some fund investors have voiced concerns about the tight timeframe for closing the deal, which was only announced last week.
Colony is in discussions with the LPs and is saying that the timeframe is driven by the court date set in the Cayman Islands, where the fund entities are domiciled.
It is also making the case that a quick close is preferable as it distances these funds from any further reputational risk, the source said.